LAHORE: A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Monday released Manawan Police Training School attack suspect, Hijratullah.

Acting on an appeal, the bench treated the eight years spent by the appellant behind bars as sufficient imprisonment and commuted his sentence.

Appellate counsel, Ali Zia Bajwa, submitted that the anti-terrorism court held the trial of Hijratullah without lawful jurisdiction. He stated that police had arrested the appellant in order to show its performance only. He believed the man was innocent and not involved in the attack on the training school.

Hijratullah was arrested in 2009 and convicted the same year. The trial court at the time was not empowered to hear cases relating to the Explosives Act until the law was amended in 2012.

He requested the court to set aside the sentence of Hijratullah and order his acquittal. A prosecutor while opposing the appeal, asserted that Hijratullah along with other terrorists on March 30th, 2009 attacked the police training school where at least 22 police personnel were killed and 100 others injured. It was the prosecutor's belief that the appellate did not deserve any concession for his crime.

On October 19th, 2009, an anti-terrorism court sentenced Hijratullah to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for attempting to destroy a military helicopter during an operation against the terrorists who attacked the police training school. The prosecution case against Hijratullah was that along with 12 other terrorists, he had attacked the training school in which 22 police officials were killed and 100 others were injured. Security personnel arrested a man and upon conducting a search, recovered from his possession a grenade, a dagger, and some papers.

The arrested man was later identified as Hijratullah alias Shakirullah, son of Matiullah, a resident of Charsadda. The prosecution said that he wanted to destroy a military helicopter.

An FIR under the Explosive Substances Act 1908, 13(20) 65 of Arms Ordinance and Section 7 of Anti-terrorism Act was registered against him at Manawan police station.

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